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I can't emphasize enough the importance of using ONLY Distilled Water to fill a battery. If you use ordinary tap water, bottled drinking water, or well water, you will be introducing various chemicals like Chlorine, Salt, and Iron into the battery which will cause it to have a decreased performance and cause an increased rate of self-discharge. As for when and how much to use when 'topping-up' your battery, check with your battery supplier for proper fluid levels. If you had just purchased it new, I would have the battery store verify proper fluid level, and then use those levels as a reference point and not fill it past that mark. Yes, you can over fill a battery so be aware of the proper level. If the battery says Maintenance Free, I wouldn't even consider adding fluid for several years. Many of the newer maintenance free batteries have sealed tops that prevent tampering by the owners.
Just some FYI of an extreme case, back in high school I had a friend who accidentally spilled a bit of coffee into his battery while the caps were open. It proceeded to rise to a temperature of about 120 degrees F (from 65 F)as it discharged itself over a period of approximately 30 hours. A perfectly good battery was instantly demoted to 'space-heater' status.
Again, I can't emphasize enough: Use distilled water only, and use only enough to get the battery to the proper level. If it doesn't say Distilled Water on the container, don't use it.
God bless,
Fitz Fitzgerald.
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'87 Blue 245, NA 220K
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